Could young people help restore King's Meadow Baths?

Campaigners want young people and even former offenders to help them restore the derelict King’s Meadow Baths

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Campaigners want young people and even former offenders to help them restore a former Reading landmark.

The King’s Meadow Campaign wants to combat anti-social behaviour in the park off Napier Road by recruiting young people to help restore the now-derelict King’s Meadow Baths.

The campaigners say the project would have a positive outcome for both the people involved, in the shape of qualifications and experience, and the wider community, as the result would be an improved facility.

The group has presented its proposal to Reading Borough Council. It also wants to speak to Thames Valley Probation about the possibility of criminals doing community payback work getting involved in the project.

Campaign spokesman Bob O’Neill said: “Our concern has been to reinstate the King’s Meadow Baths as a community facility and we want young people to be an equal part in this and it to be something for them, for their heritage.

“We have had a spate of vandalism. We’ve had various periods where it’s been vandalised since the last users left.

“We’re keen to engage with young people. At times I’ve found hundreds of young people down there and they say there’s nothing here for them. We want to give them the opportunity to engage in this and give them the opportunity to learn new skills.”

Mr O’Neill said the group wanted to work with the council to target so-called NEETS – those not in education, employment or training.

He added: “We’re appealing to Reading Borough Council to help make this happen.”

Council spokesman Dalitso Njolinjo said: “King’s Meadow Campaign has a number of ideas in how to carry out works to the pool. This includes working with people not in employment, education or training to both carry out restoration, but also to provide skills and qualifications to participants.

“This is likely to need the setting up of training programmes, require the baths to be a suitable and safe place of work/training, and fit in with a structured restoration plan.

“The King’s Meadow Campaign is hoping to establish with potential partner organisations what will be required for the people they are responsible for to be trained or work at the old pool.

“To further explore the feasibility of this option, the council has offered to host a meeting with the King’s Meadow Campaign and organisations they have identified as potential partners.

“We hope that the King’s Meadow Campaign will then be able to develop a programme that would enable the restoration of the King’s Meadow Pool and meet the strict criteria that are likely to be needed to satisfy both the training requirements and safety regulations of partners.”